So the fact the OPPO 981HD does not output 480i and the 970HD does makes the 970HD the preferred player for those using outboard video processors? I would expect a separate video processor to be better at converting a 480i signal all by itself to the native resolution (or close to it) of the TV versus having either a source or the TV do some of the processing. Sound reasonable?
Precisely - the 970HD became the DVD player of choice among owners of Anthem Statement D2's almost as soon as it appeared, since it could feed an essentially unaltered video signal from the disc to the D2's Gennum-based scaler.
I don't like the way standard definition TV looks on my plasma. I have some old VCR tapes that look even worse. While the upconverting DVD players improve a standard DVD's appearance these other sources are processed by the TV alone. The trend to include video processors in pre/pros and receivers that work on all video inputs seems like a good idea as long as the ratio of cost to desired features is appropriate.
This sentiment is exactly why folks have begun expressing more and more interest in receivers and processors offering scaling solutions based on some of the "name brand" scaler chips (Silicon Optix, Genesis, Gennum, ...). If done properly, it can eliminate much of the concern about how good a job your TV does with scaling (or even how good a job your DVD player does, if you have a player like the 970HD and a good enough implementation in the receiver). The key, as in so many things, is doing it right...
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